Zombie Decks have a bunch of exclusive Synchro Monsters that other Decks can’t play. The problem? They all need Plaguespreader Zombie as their Tuner: a tough requirement, since Plaguespreader is Limited to 1 per Deck. Generation Force solves that problem with a new world premiere card: Pain Painter. Feast your undead eyes!

Zombie fans rejoice: you can now run up to 4 Plaguespreader Zombies! Pain Painter becomes a Plaguespreader clone the moment it hits the field, and it can even adjust the levels of other monsters on the field to help you make the Synchro Summons you need.

There are three different Synchro Monsters that use Plaguespreader Zombie as their Tuner. Revived King Ha Des has 2450 ATK, and its ability negates the effect of any monster your Zombies destroy in battle. It’s a nightmare for monsters like Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Gravekeeper’s Spy, and Reborn Tengu. Doomkaiser Dragon has 2400 ATK, and its effect lets you Special Summon a Zombie from your opponent’s Graveyard when you Special Summon Doomkaiser. You can swipe your opponent’s Plaguespreader Zombie, or you can play Zombie World and graverob any opposing monster.

Archfiend Zombie Skull used to be almost impossible to Summon: it needs Plaguespreader Zombie and 2 or more non-Tuner Zombie-Types for its Synchro Materials. There aren’t many low-level Zombies, so Archfiend was almost impossible to run outside of Skull Servant Decks. Now, thanks to Pain Painter’s ability to shrink the Levels of your Zombies, you can finally play it. Use Pain Painter to shrink 2 of your Zombies to Level 2; Tune them both to the Painter; and you get a 2500 ATK monster that protects all of your Zombies – including itself – from destruction effects. If your non-Tuners were Goblin Zombies, you can use their abilities to get more Zombies from your Deck and Synchro Summon on the cheap.

Since Pain Painter is a Zombie-Type, it works with all of your Zombie support cards. You can banish Mezuki from your Graveyard to Special Summon a Zombie-Type back from the grave, so it’s easy to revive Pain Painter. Book of Life is similar, Special Summoning a Zombie from your Graveyard while banishing a monster from your opponent’s. Neither of these cards work with Tuners like Debris Dragon or Krebons, because they aren’t Zombies.

Zombie Master is huge with Pain Painter: its effect lets you send a monster card to the Graveyard to revive a Zombie. That means you can Summon Zombie Master; send Pain Painter for the Master’s ability; and then Special Summon the Painter. Tune them together and you can instantly Synchro Summon Revived King Ha Des or Doomkaiser Dragon. You can even Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.

Pain Painter’s effect isn’t just for Synchro Summoning: since it’s a Level 2, and it turns other Zombies into Level 2’s as well, you can pair it with any Zombie to Xyz Summon a Rank 2 Xyz Monster like Gachi Gachi Gantetsu. Blue-Blooded Oni is another new Zombie from Generation Force: its effect lets you detach 1 Xyz Material a turn to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from your Graveyard. You can put together some really fun combos by Xyz Summoning Gantetsu and then removing its Xyz Materials to Special Summon them back with Blue-Blood. Try this:

-Summon Zombie Master, and send Pain Painter to the Graveyard Special Summon it.

-Combine both monsters to Xyz Summon Gachi Gachi Gantetsu.

-Activate Blue-Blooded Oni’s effect to detach Zombie Master from Gantetsu, then Special Summon it.

-Use Zombie Master’s effect again for another Special Summon.

If you have a second Blue-Blood Oni in the Graveyard, you can use the first Blue-Blood to Summon the second. Use that Blue-Blood to Special Summon Zombie Master, and use the Master to Special Summon back Pain Painter for a Synchro Summon. Pretty sweet!

As a substitute for Plaguespreader Zombie, Pain Painter is a simple card that makes the Zombie strategy way better. It’s not complicated, and it really draws the Zombie Deck together by making all your cards more effective. Its level-changing effect also allows for a bunch of wacky plays and fun tactics, opening up some neat combos. It’s a great competitive card; a lot of fun for casual Dueling; and a boon for the Zombie strategy. Get yours in Generation Force!